Murray State and Wichita State have already wrapped up conference championships and sit at No. 1 and No. 2 in the final Mid-Major Top 25 of the regular season.
Feb 23, 2012 - It's the final installment of the top 25 with everyone still competing in regular season play. Gotta cherish it.
1. MURRAY STATE (26-1, 13-1) (1)
The Racers have already clinched their third straight OVC title, but that won't mean they'll be lacking motivation o Thursday night when they face the Tennessee State team that ruined their perfect season.
2. WICHITA STATE (25-4, 15-2) (4)
The MVC champs have lost just once in 2012, and that was in triple overtime at Drake. Wichita State has more Final Four potential than any team other team in this top 25.
3. SAINT MARY'S (23-5, 12-2) (3)
The Gaels can clinch at least a share of the WCC title with a win at Portland Thursday night.
4. HARVARD (23-3, 9-1) (6)
It couldn't be a bigger weekend for Harvard, which will look to avenge its only Ivy League loss on Friday against arch-rival Princeton and then hosts second-place Pennsylvania a day later. A pair of wins and the Crimson will have all but locked up their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1945.
5. MIDDLE TENNESSEE (24-4, 13-1) (7)
They continue to win without receiving nearly the amount of national recognition as the other members of the top ten. The Sun Belt isn't at the level it's been in previous years, but having just one league loss in late February is still a tremendous achievement.
6. GONZAGA (21-5, 11-3) (2)
The loss at San Francisco last weekend likely ended any shot the 'Zags had at an outright conference title.
7. CREIGHTON (24-5, 13-4) (8)
The Bluejays can drop 75 or 80 on anyone in the country, but their already porous defense has actually gotten worse during the final month of the season. It's a strange combination to see from a Valley power. If they don't make more of a commitment to keeping opponents from scoring then they won't make it past the first weekend of the dance.
8. LONG BEACH STATE (20-7, 13-0) (5)
I feel bad for dropping The Beach after they actually outplayed Creighton on their home floor and appear more capable of winning a game or two in the NCAA Tournament than multiple teams ranked above them, but such is life in the SB Nation Mid-Major Top 25.
9. IONA (22-6, 13-3) (9)
Mike Glover was the MAAC's preseason Player of the Year, he's the league's leading scorer, second-leading rebounder, he ranks third in the nation in field goal percentage and he's almost definitely going to be named conference Player of the Year next week. He's also probably the third most well-known player on the Iona basketball team.
10. BYU (23-6, 11-3) (10)
The Cougars almost certainly have to beat Gonzaga on Thursday night to have a shot at an at-large bid.
11. ORAL ROBERTS (25-5, 16-1) (11)
The Golden Eagles earned a bit more national respect with their BracketBusters win over MAC-leading Akron last Saturday.
12. DREXEL (24-5, 15-2) (16)
No team with an RPI as high as Drexel's (83) as ever earned an at-large bid. The highest RPI team to ever earn a nod was No. 74 New Mexico in 1999.
13. VCU (24-6, 14-3) (14)
The Rams' rematch with George Mason on Saturday figures to be a doozy. VCU had an 11-game win streak snapped at Mason on Valentine's Day, courtesy of a 30-foot heave at the buzzer. This time there could be a CAA title on the line.
14. GEORGE MASON (23-7, 14-3) (13)
See above.
15. WEBER STATE (22-4, 13-1) (17)
The Fighting Damian Lillard's will have to beat Montana this weekend to win the Big Sky and earn the top seed in the league tournament.
16. AKRON (20-8, 12-1) (12)
It's rare to see a MAC leader with a non-conference record as average as 8-7, but that's exactly what the Zips are bringing to the table.
17. DAVIDSON (20-7, 14-2) (15)
Last weekend's blowout loss to Wichita State ensured that the Wildcats will have to win the SoCon Tournament in order to go dancing.
18. LIU BROOKLYN (21-7, 15-1) (20)
Should it happen, LIU/Wagner should be one of the five or so best conference championship games.
19. UT-ARLINGTON (21-6, 13-0) (19)
20. WAGNER (23-4, 14-2) (21)
Wagner still has an outside shot at the NEC title, but really it's the conference tournament - where they're already assured of no worse than a two seed - that they need to be focused on at this point.
21. BELMONT (22-7, 14-2) (22)
The Bruins haven't rolled through the A-Sun like most figured they would, but they're still just a Thursday night win at Kennesaw State away from wrapping up the league title.
22. OHIO (22-6, 9-4) (23)
The Bobcats have underachieved since the start of league play, but if they can win the MAC tournament they'll still be one of the most dangerous 13 or 14 seeds in the big dance.
23. MONTANA (20-6, 12-1) (NR)
The Grizzlies end the regular season with three straight home games and could shockingly wind up stealing the Big Sky title away from the much more heralded Weber State.
24. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (22-7, 13-3) (NR)
South Dakota State/Oral Roberts. Find out when it's on TV and enjoy the show.
25. VALPARAISO (20-10, 13-4) (NR)
Maybe the most underrated story in college basketball right now is Bryce Drew leading Valpo to the Horizon League title in his first season after assuming the head coaching duties from his Cancer-ridden father.
DROPPED OUT: Kent State (18), Cleveland State (24), Bucknell (25).
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